A$AP Ferg Rebel, Toronto ON, December 17

A$AP Ferg Rebel, Toronto ON, December 17
Photo: Matt Forsythe
From the kick-off of his set, A$AP Ferg had Toronto in the palm of his hand. Before the Trap Lord even made his way on stage, the crowd went wild for A$AP Rocky's "Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2)" and when Ferg finally emerged to the hard slap of bass on "Floor Seats," everyone was ready to throw down as he continuously called for mosh pits.
The rapper was giving it his all at the Toronto stop of his tour, earning him massive chants of "ASAP" from the crowd before he launched into the skittering beat of "Coach Cartier." Indeed, it was the biggest show of the tour, according to the man himself, and Toronto showed up for the mid-week set, which Ferg noted was "going down in the books" before declaring "This is not a concert." It felt more like a primal release of energy than just another rap show, as Ferg screamed and belted out lines for hard-hitting tracks like "Mattress" and "WAM."
He was beyond hyped about being in Toronto, and let the crowd know frequently. Between most songs, Ferg interacted with the crowd, hyping them up and giving the city massive praise for its hip-hop scene, women and, of course, our championship-winning basketball team. Even before his set started though, it felt like a Canadian affair as Ontario producer Murda Beatz spun tracks while shouting out the city as people continued to file in.
While the energy never seemed to lag, the rapper gave it an extra kick midway through the night as he ruthlessly spit bars while the beat to "Wigs" cut in and out before the drop came and the song really started. He followed this up with a sole solemn moment for two fallen rappers, Juice WRLD and A$AP Mob leader A$AP Yams, calling for everyone to hold up their lighters and cell phones before asking for a moment of silence, which people surprisingly obliged to. In honour of his collective's fallen founder, Ferg slapped his way through the bone-rattling bass of A$AP Mob's "Yamborghini High."
Despite taking time between nearly every song to interact with the crowd, he managed to tear through roughly 20 songs in about an hour. Sure, songs got cut off partway through pretty often, but no one seemed to care, given that his phenomenal discography allowed for hit after hit to shine through.
Capping off his set, A$AP Ferg shouted out Toronto as a second home to him before leading the crowd through a mostly a capella rendition of "East Coast." From there, he slid through tracks like "Shabba," "New Level" and "Work." Toronto got one last chance to wild out though with Ferg dropping "Plain Jane" to finish off his set. The man may be from New York, but given his love for Toronto and the response from the crowd off of this performance, A$AP Ferg can comfortably call this city home and will be welcomed with open arms.